In Little Stars
by SisterGrimmErin
Summary: Everyone else was under the impression that Lily had fallen in love with James gradually, but the truth is this: she married him because he wanted to give her everything. She loved him because he had tried so hard to.


**In Little Stars**

**By Sister Grimm Erin**

_"They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever."_

**X X X X X**

The truth is this: no one retains the same youthful headiness and lack of conflict that exists at the beginning of a romance forever.

If the relationship is strong, there will be times when you hate the person with every fiber of your being and times when you feel that headiness flooding through you stronger than ever before. There will be a "best of times" and a "worst of times."

But beyond all that, there will be a time where you want to hate that person, but there is something strong inside of you that knows you cannot. It is more than fairness, it is more than kindness. It is something rooted in you, and that is when you realize you have fallen in love. Not when you feel certain this is love, this has to be forever; the moment when you hold that person's hand and know that for better or worse, in sickness or in health, despite all that may happen next-because nothing is permanent, nothing is forever-they have made an impression on you, as strong as fire on iron, and some echo of their voice, some memory of their hand in yours, will be with you until you draw your very last breath.

Lily and James Potter were no exception.

**X X X X X**

Their friends were under the impression their romance had been a slow cooling, that the pair of them had finally seen they were made for one another, that it had been something gradual, bound to happen, and that it had happened over the course of their seventh year.

The truth is this: that James had found Lily staring emptily out a window, folding a piece of paper over and over and over again in her hand, and he hadn't known what to do, and that she had told him to go away one last time, and for once, he hadn't.

"My parents are dead, all right?" she said, voice quivering. "Don't go thinking you're getting a pity fuck out of this. I don't care if you know what it's like, I don't care, just go away, or I swear, I'll hex the life out of you!"

He didn't. Instead, taking two halting steps towards her, he held out his hand.

By some miracle in no way taught at Hogwarts, she took it.

"I didn't know they were dead, I was just passing by," he told her. "I'm sorry to hear it. Although nothing I say seems to make you happy, I might as well ask now. I've been planning to go on a trip this summer. To Vienna, to Cairo-anywhere. I was going to have Sirius come along, but I realized... I secretly wanted you. I know it's ridiculous, but I just... wanted to give you the world. I don't know what your plans are, but I want to give you everything I can, if you'll let me."

"James," she said, her voice husky with tears. He meets her green, sparkling eyes, and remembers the girl he fell in love with, the girl who ran, ran, ran from everything, the girl who danced, the girl who laughed.

For one terrifying moment, he was certain she was going to say no.

"Of course. The moment after NEWTs end."

**X X X X X**

He gives her a flying motorcycle ride through Rome (after all, the bike was his first). He takes her on a boat ride through Venice. He dances with her along the Great Wall of China, and they take a nude swim in the crystal clear waters off Melbourne. He slips a Galleon out from under her ear with a trick he learned from a Muggle in Las Vegas.

She gives him a breath of indignation and surprise when he Apparates to Prague. She gives him smiles, laughs, and three kisses on the cheek before finally granting him a good, long kiss on the mouth, followed by more later. She gives him her love one glorious morning in a Morocco hotel. She gives him sweet nothings, calls him her darling, and throws her arms around his neck frequently.

They visit an empty diamond mine in West Virginia, and he presents her with the last large rock. She takes it into her hand and kisses him swiftly.

He gets it set by a jeweler in London, and for the first time in his life, says please.

She gives him her _yes_.

**X X X X X**


End file.
